Reading from Arthur W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God, first edition by I. C. Herondeen in 1930, forward to the first edition from 1919. In the following pages, an attempt has been made to examine anew, in the light of God's words, some of the profoundest questions which can engage the human mind. Others have grappled with these mighty problems in days gone by, and from their labors we are the gainers. While making no claim for originality, the writer nevertheless has endeavored to examine and deal with the subject from an entirely independent viewpoint. We have studied diligently the writings of such men as Augustine and Aquinas, Calvin and Melanchthon, Jonathan Edwards and Ralph Erickson, Andrew Fuller and Robert Haldane. And sad it is to think that these eminent and honored names are almost entirely unknown to the present generation. Though, of course, we do not endorse all their conclusions, yet we gladly acknowledge our deep indebtedness to their works. We have purposely refrained from quoting freely from these deeply taught theologians, because we desired that the faith of our readers should stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. For this reason we have quoted freely from the Scriptures and have sought to furnish proof texts for every statement we have advanced. It would be foolish for us to expect that this work will meet with general approval. The trend of modern theology, if theology it can be called, is ever toward the deification of the creature rather than the glorification of the Creator. And the leaven of present-day rationalism is rapidly permeating the whole of Christendom. The malevolent effects of evolution, Darwinianism, are far more reaching than most of us are aware. Many of those among our religious leaders who are still regarded as orthodox would, we fear, be found to be very heterodox if they were weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. Even those who are clear intellectually upon other truth are rarely sound in doctrine. Few, very few today really believe in the complete ruin and total depravity of man. Those who speak of man's free will and insist upon his inherent power to either accept or reject the Savior do but voice their ignorance of the real condition of Adam's fallen children. And if there are few who believe that, so far as he is concerned, the condition of the sinner is entirely hopeless, there are fewer still who really believe in the absolute sovereignty of God. In addition to the widespread effects of unscriptural teaching, we also have to reckon with the deplorable superficiality of the present generation. To announce that a certain book is a treatise on doctrine is quite sufficient to prejudice against it the great bulk of church members and most of our preachers as well. The craving today is for something light and spicy, and few have patience, still less desire to examine carefully that which would make a demand both upon their hearts and their mental powers. We remember also how that it is becoming increasingly difficult in these strenuous days for those who are desirous of studying the deeper things of God to find the time which such study requires. Yet it is still true that where there's a will, there's a way. And in spite of the discouraging features referred to, we believe there is even now a godly remnant who will take pleasure in giving this little work a careful consideration. and such where we trust find it meet in due season. We do not forget the words of one long since passed away, namely that denunciation is the last resort of a defeated opponent. To dismiss this book with a contemptuous epithet, hyper-Calvinism, will not be worthy of notice. For controversy we have no taste, and we shall not accept any challenge to enter the lists against those who might desire to debate the truths discussed in these pages, So far as our personal reputation is concerned, that we leave our Lord to take care of, and unto Him we would now commit this volume, and whatever fruit it may bear, praying to Him to use it for the enlightening of His own dear people, insofar as it is in accord with His holy word, and to pardon the writer for, and preserve the reader from, the injurious effects of any false teaching that may have crept into it. If the joy and comfort which have come to the author while penning these pages are shared by those who may scan them, then we shall be devoutly thankful to the One whose grace alone enables us to discern spiritual things. Arthur W. Pink, June 1918 Let's go to the introduction now. Who is regulating the affairs on this earth today? God or the devil? That God reigns supreme in heaven is generally conceded, that He does so over this world is almost universally denied. If not directly, then indirectly. More and more are men in their philosophizing and theorizing relegating God to the background. Take the material realm. Not only is it denied that God created everything by personal and direct action, but very few believe that He has any immediate concern in regulating the works of His own hands. Everything is supposed to be ordered according to the impersonal and abstract laws of nature. Thus is the Creator banished from His own creation. Therefore, we need not be surprised that men, in their degrading conceptions, exclude Him from the realm of human affairs. Throughout Christendom, with an almost negligible exception, the theory is held that man is a free agent, and therefore Lord of his fortunes, and the determiner of his destiny. That Satan is to be blamed for much of the evil which is in the world is freely affirmed by those who, though having so much to say about the responsibility of man, often deny their own responsibility by attributing to the devil what in fact proceeds from their own evil hearts. See Mark chapter 7 verses 21-23. But who is regulating affairs on this earth today? God or the devil? Attempt to take a serious and comprehensive view of the world. What a scene of confusion and chaos confronts us on every side. Sin is rampant. Lawlessness abounds. Evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse. 2 Timothy 3.13. Today everything appears to be out of joint. Thrones are creaking and tottering. Ancient dynasties are being overturned. Democracies are revolting. Civilization is a demonstrated failure. Half of Christendom was but recently locked together in a death grapple, World War I, and now that the titanic conflict is over, instead of the world having been made safe for democracy, we have discovered that democracy is very unsafe for the world. Unrest, discontent, and lawlessness are rife everywhere, and none can say how soon another great war will be set in motion. Statesmen are perplexed, and staggered men's hearts are failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. Luke 21.26 Do these things look as though God had full control? But let us confine our attention to the religious realm. After 19 centuries of gospel preaching, Christ is still despised and rejected of men. Worse still, He, the Christ of Scripture, is proclaimed and magnified by very few. In the majority of modern pulpits, He is dishonored and disowned. Despite frantic efforts to attract the crowds, the majority of the churches are being emptied rather than filled. And what of the great masses of non-churchgoers? In the light of Scripture we are compelled to believe that the many are on the broad road that leadeth to destruction, and that only few are on the narrow way that leadeth unto life. Many are declaring that Christianity is a failure, and despair is settling on many faces. Not a few of the Lord's own people are bewildered, and their faith is being severely tried. And what of God does he see and hear? Is he impotent or indifferent? A number of those who I regarded as leaders of Christian thought told us that God could not help the coming of the late, awful war, and that He was unable to bring about its termination. It was said, and said openly, that conditions were beyond God's control. Do these things look as though God were ruling the world? Who is regulating the affairs on this earth today, God or the devil? What impression is made upon the minds of those men of the world who occasionally attend a gospel service? What are the conceptions formed by those who hear even those preachers who are accounted as orthodox? Is it not that a disappointed God is the one whom Christians believe in? From what is heard from the average evangelist today, is not any serious hearer obliged to conclude that he professes to represent a God who is filled with benevolent intentions, yet unable to carry them out? That he is earnestly desirous of blessing men, but that they will not let him? Then must not the average hearer draw the inference that the devil has gained the upper hand, and that God is to be pitied rather than blamed? But does not everything seem to show that the devil has far more to do with the affairs of earth than God has? It all depends on whether we are walking by faith or walking by sight. Are your thoughts, my reader, concerning this world and God's relation to it based upon what you see? Face this question seriously and honestly, and if you are a Christian, you will most probably have cause to bow your head with shame and sorrow, and to acknowledge that it is so. Alas, in reality we walk very little by faith. But what does walking by faith signify? It means that our thoughts are formed, our actions regulated, our lives molded by the Holy Scriptures. For faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10, 17. It is from the word of truth and that alone that we can learn what is God's relation to this world. Who is regulating affairs on this earth today? God or the devil? What saith the Scriptures? Ere we consider the direct reply to this query, let it be said that the Scriptures predicted what we now see and hear. The prophecy of Jude is, in course, a fulfillment. It would lead us too far astray from our present inquiry to fully amplify this assertion, but what we have particularly in mind is a sentence in verse 8 of Jude. Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yes, they speak evil of the supreme dignity, the only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Ours is peculiarly an age of irreverence, and, as the consequence, the spirit of lawlessness, which brooks no restraint, and which is desirous of casting off everything which interferes with the free course of self-will, is rapidly engulfing the earth like some giant tidal wave. The members of the rising generation are the most flagrant offenders, and in the decay and disappearing of parental authority we have the certain precursor of the abolition of civic authority. Therefore, in view of the growing disrespect for human law and the refusal to render honor to whom honor is due, We need not be surprised that the recognition of the majesty, the authority, and the sovereignty of the Almighty Lawgiver should recede more and more into the background, and that the masses have less and less patience with those who insist upon them. and conditions will not improve. Instead, the more sure word of prophecy makes known to us that they will grow worse and worse. Nor do we expect to be able to stem the tide. It has already risen much too high for that. All we can now hope to do is warn our fellow saints against the spirit of the age, and thus seek to counteract its baneful influence upon them. Who is regulating affairs on this earth today, God or the devil? What sayeth the Scriptures? If we believe their plain and positive declarations, no room is left for uncertainty. They affirm again and again that God is on the throne of the universe, that the scepter is in His hands, that He is directing all things after the counsel of His own will. They affirm not only that God created all things, but also that God is ruling and reigning over all the works of His hands. They affirm that God is the Almighty, that His will is irreversible, that He is absolute sovereign in every realm of all His vast dominions, and surely it must be so. Only two alternatives are possible. God must either rule or be ruled, sway or be swayed, accomplish His own will, or be thwarted by His creatures. Accepting the fact that He is the Most High, the only Potentate and King of kings, vested with perfect wisdom and illimitable power, and the conclusion is irresistible that he must be God in fact, as well as in name. It is in view of what we have briefly referred to above that we say present-day conditions call loudly for a new examination and a new presentation of God's omnipotency, God's sufficiency, God's sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns. Faith is now in the crucible. It is being tested by fire, and there is no fixed and sufficient resting place for the heart and mind but in the throne of God. What is needed now as never before is a full, positive, constructive setting forth of the Godhood of God. Drastic diseases call for drastic remedies. People are weary of platitudes and mere generalizations. The call is for something definite and specific. soothing syrup may serve the peevish children, but an iron tonic is better suited for adults, and we know of nothing which is more calculated to infuse spiritual vigor into our frames than a spiritual apprehension of the full character of God. It is written, Daniel 11, 32, The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Without a doubt, a world crisis is at hand. Everywhere men are alarmed. But God is not. He is never taken by surprise. It is no unexpected emergency which now confronts Him, for He is the One who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Ephesians 1.11 Hence, though the world is panic-stricken, the word to the believer is, Fear not. All things are subject to His immediate control, all things are moving in accord with His eternal purpose, and therefore all things are working together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. It must be so, for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, Romans 11.36. Yet how little is this realized today, even by the people of God? Many suppose that he is little more than a far-distant spectator taking no immediate hand in the affairs of this earth. It is true that man has a will, but so also has God. It is true that man is endowed with power, but God is all-powerful. It is true that, speaking generally, the material world is regulated by law, but behind that law is the law-giver and law-administrator. Man is but the creature, God is the creator. And endless ages before man first saw the light, the mighty God existed, Isaiah 9, 6. And ere the world was founded, made his plans, and being infinite in power, and man only finite, his purpose and plan cannot be withstood or thwarted by the creatures of his own hands. We readily acknowledge that life is a profound problem, and that we are surrounded by mystery on every side. But we are not like the beasts of the field, ignorant of their origin and unconscious of what is before them. No, we have also a more sure word of prophecy, 2 Peter 1.19, of which it is said, Ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. And it is to this word of prophecy we indeed do well to take heed, to that word which had not its origin in the mind of man, but in the mind of God. For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. We say again, it is to this word we do well to take heed. As we turn to this word and are instructed thereupon, we discover a fundamental principle which must be applied to every problem. Instead of beginning with man and his world and working back to God, we must begin with God and work down to man. In the beginning, God, apply this principle to the present situation, begin with the world as it is today and try to work back to God and everything will seem to show that God has no connection with the world at all. But begin with God and work down to the world, and light, much light is cast on the problem. Because God is holy, His anger burns against sin. Because God is righteous, His judgments fall upon those who rebel against Him. Because God is faithful, the solemn threatenings of His word are fulfilled. Because God is omnipotent, none can successfully resist Him, still less overthrow His counsel. And because God is omniscient, no problem can master Him, and no difficulty baffle His wisdom. It is just because God is who He is and what He is that we are now beholding on earth what we do, the beginning of His outpoured judgments. In view of His inflexible justice and immaculate holiness, we could not expect anything other than what is now spread before our eyes. But let it be said very emphatically that the heart can only rest upon and enjoy the blessed truth of the absolute sovereignty of God as faith is in exercise. Faith is ever occupied with God. That is the character of it. That is what differentiates faith from intellectual theology. Hebrews 11, 27. Faith endures as seeing Him who is invisible, endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heartaches of life by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err and too loving to be unkind. So long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself, there will be neither rest for the heart nor peace for the mind. But when we receive all that enters our lives as from His hand, then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings, whether in a hovel, a prison dungeon, or a martyr's stake, we shall be enabled to say, The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places. Psalm 16.6 But that is the language of faith, not of sight or of sense. But if instead of bowing to the testimony of Holy Writ, if instead of walking by faith we follow the evidence of our eyes and reason therefrom, we shall fall into a quagmire of virtual atheism. Or, if we are regulated by the opinions and views of others, peace will be at an end. Granted that there is much in this world of sin and suffering which appeals, appalls, and saddens us. Granted that there is much in the providential dealings of God which startle and stagger us. That is no reason why we should unite with the unbelieving worldling who says, if I were God I would not allow this or tolerate that, etc. better far in the presence of bewildering mystery, to say with one of old, I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. Psalm 39.9. Scripture tells us that God's judgments are unsearchable, and His ways, Romans 11.33, past finding out. It must be so if faith is to be tested, confidence in His wisdom and righteousness strengthened, and submission to His holy will will be fostered. Here is the fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is of the world, judges everything by worldly standards, views life from the standpoint of time and sense, and weighs everything in the balances of his own carnal making. But the man of faith brings in God, looks at everything from his standpoint, estimates values by spiritual standards, and views life in the light of eternity. Doing this, he receives whatever comes as from the hand of God. Doing this, his heart is calm in the midst of the storm. Doing this, he rejoices in the hope of the glory of God. In these opening paragraphs, we have indicated the lines of thought followed out in this book. Our first postulate is that because God is God, He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases, that His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure, and the promotion of His own glory, that He is the supreme being, and therefore sovereign of the universe. Starting with this postulate, we have contemplated the exercise of God's sovereignty, first in creation, second in governmental administration over the works of His hands, third in the salvation of His own elect, fourth in the reprobation of the wicked, and fifth in operation upon and within men. Next we have viewed the sovereignty of God as it relates to the human will in particular, and human responsibility in general, and have sought to show what is the only becoming attitude for the creature to take in view of the majesty of the Creator. A separate chapter has been set apart for a consideration of some of the difficulties which are involved and to answering the questions which are likely to be raised in the minds of our readers, while one chapter has been devoted to a more careful yet brief examination of God's sovereignty in relation to prayer. Finally, we have sought to show The sovereignty of God is a truth revealed to us in Scripture for the comfort of our hearts and the strengthening of our souls. and the blessing of our lives. A due apprehension of God's sovereignty promotes the spirit of worship, provides an incentive to practical godliness, and inspires zeal in service. It is deeply humbling to the human heart, but in proportion to the degree that it brings man into the dust before his Maker, to that extent God is glorified. We are well aware that what we have written is in open opposition to much of the teaching that is current both in religious literature and in the representative pulpits of the land. We freely grant that the postulate of God's sovereignty with all its corollaries is at direct variance with the opinions and thoughts of the natural man. But the truth is, we are quite unable to think upon these matters. We are incompetent for forming a proper estimate of God's character and ways, and it is because of this that God has given us a revelation of His mind, and in that revelation He plainly declares, My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55, 8 and 9. In view of this scripture, it is only to be expected that much of the contents of the Bible conflicts with the sentiments of the carnal mind, which is enmity against God. Romans chapter 8. Our appeal then is not to the popular beliefs of the day, nor to the creeds of the churches, but to the law and testimony of Jehovah. All that we ask for is an impartial and attentive examination of what we have written, and that, made prayerfully in the light of the lamp of truth, may the reader heed the divine admonition to prove all things, hold fast that which is good. 1. God's Sovereignty Defined 1 Chronicles 29.11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all. The sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood. It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was a theme frequently expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth which brought comfort to many hearts and gave virility and stability to Christian character. But today, to make mention of God's sovereignty is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown tongue. Were we to announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our discourse would be the sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas that it should be so! Alas that the doctrine which is the key to history, the interpreter of providence, the warp and the roof of scripture, and the foundation of Christian theology should be so sadly neglected and so little understood. the sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. so that none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou, Daniel 4, 35? To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will. Psalm 115, 3 Psalm 2228, to say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the governor among the nations, setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 1 Timothy 6.15, such is the God of the Bible. How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom? The conception of deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scripture, God is miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the creation of a maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence. Footnotes Some years ago an evangelical preacher of nationwide reputation visited the town in which we then were, and during the course of his address kept repeating, Poor God, poor God, surely it is this preacher who needs to be pitied. To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ, when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellow men are dying in sin and passing into a hopeless eternity, is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escape in the conclusion. To argue that God is trying His best to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do upon the devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then Satan is almighty and God is no longer the Supreme Being. To declare that the Creator's original plan has been frustrated by sin is to dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity is to degrade the Most High to the level of a finite erring mortal. To argue that man is a free moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny and that therefore he has the power to checkmate his maker is to strip God of the attribute of omnipotence. To say that the creature has burst the bounds assigned by his creator and that God is now practically a helpless spectator before the sin and suffering entailed by Adam's fall is to repudiate the express declaration of Holy Writ, namely, Surely the wrath of men shall praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain, Psalm 76, 10. In a word, to deny the sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path which, if followed to its logical terminus, is to arrive at blank atheism. The sovereignty of God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God is sovereign, we affirm His right to govern the universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the power of the potter over the clay, that is, that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give account of His matters to any. Sovereignty characterizes the whole being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes. He is sovereign in the exercise of His power. His power is exercised as He wills, When he wills, where he wills. This fact is evidenced on every page of scripture. For a long season that power appears to be dormant, and then it put forth in irresistible might. Pharaoh dared to hinder Israel from going forth to worship Jehovah in the wilderness, what happened? God exercised His power. His people were delivered and their cruel taskmasters slain. But a little later, the Amalekites dared to attack these sane Israelites in the wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on the occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these enemies of His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No. On the contrary, the Lord swore that He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Exodus 17, 16. Again, when Israel entered the land of Canaan, God's power was signally displayed. The city of Jericho barred their progress. What happened? Israel did not draw a bow nor strike a blow. The Lord stretched forth his hand and the walls fell down flat. But the miracle was never repeated. No other city fell after this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword. Many other instances might be adduced illustrating the sovereign exercise of God's power. Take one other example. God put forth His power, and David was delivered from Goliath the giant. The mouths of the lions were closed, and Daniel escaped unhurt. The three Hebrew children were cast into the burning, fiery furnace, and came forth unharmed and unscorched. But God's power did not always interpose for the deliverance of His people. For we read, Hebrews chapter 11, verses 36 and 37, And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. But why? Why were not these men of faith delivered like the others? Or why were not the others suffered to be killed like these? Why should God's power interpose and rescue some and not the others? Why allow Stephen to be stoned to death and then deliver Peter from prison? God is sovereign in the delegation of his power to others. Why did God endow Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his contemporaries? Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength which no other human has ever possessed? Again, it is written, Deuteronomy 8.18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth. But God does not bestow this power on all alike. Why not? Why has He given such power to men like Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller? The answer to all of these questions is because God is sovereign, and being sovereign He does as He pleases. God is sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for mercy is directed by the will of Him that showeth mercy. Mercy is not a right to which man is entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God by which He pities and relieves the wretched. But under the righteous government of God no one is wretched who does not deserve to be so. The objects of mercy, then, are those who are miserable, and all misery is the result of sin. Hence the miserable are deserving of punishment, not mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is the contradiction of terms. God bestows His mercy on whom He pleases and withholds them as seemeth good to Himself. A remarkable illustration of this fact is seen in the manner that God responded to the prayers of two men offered under very similar circumstances. Sentence of death was passed upon Moses for one act of disobedience, and he besought the Lord for a reprieve. But was his desire gratified? No. He told Israel, The Lord is wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me. And the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee, Deuteronomy 3.26. Now mark the second case. In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again. And tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears, behold, I will heal thee. Thou shalt go up into the house of the Lord, and I will add unto thy days fifteen years." 2 Kings 21-6 Both of these men had the sentence of death in themselves, and both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a reprieve. The one wrote, The Lord would not hear me, and died. But to the other it was said, I have heard thy prayer, and his life was spared. What an illustration and exemplification of the truth expressed in Romans chapter 9 verse 15. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. The sovereign exercise of God's mercy, pity shown to the wretched, was displayed when Jehovah became flesh and tabernacled among men. Take one illustration. During one of the feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He came to the pool of Bethsaida, where lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. Among this great multitude there was a certain man which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. What happened? When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had now been a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked. John chapter 5 verses 3-9 Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We're not told that he cried, Lord have mercy on me. There is not a word in the narrative which intimates that this man possessed any qualifications which entitled him to receive special favor. Here then was a case of the sovereign exercise of divine mercy, for it was just as easy for Christ to heal the whole of that great multitude as this one certain man. But he did not. He put forth his power and relieved the wretchedness of this one particular sufferer, and for some reason known only to himself. He declined to do the same for the others. Again we say, what an illustration and exemplification of Romans 9.15. I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. God is sovereign in the exercise of His love. Ha ha ha, that is a hard saying. Who then can receive it? It is written a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven, John 3.27. When we say that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody. John 3.16 will be examined later. If he did, he would love the devil. Why does not God love the devil? Because there is nothing in him to love, because there is nothing in him to attract the heart of God, nor is there anything to attract God's love in any of the fallen sons of Adam, for all of them are by nature children of wrath. Ephesians 2.3 If then there is nothing in any member of the human race to attract God's love, and if notwithstanding he does love some, then it necessarily follows that the cause of his love must be found in himself. which is only another way of saying that the exercise of God's love towards the fallen sons of men is according to His own good pleasure. We're not unmindful of the fact that men have invented the distinction between God's love of complacency and His love of compassion, but this is an invention, pure and simple. Scripture terms the latter God's pity. See Matthew 18.33, and He is kind unto the unthankful and the evil. Luke chapter 6, verse 35. In the final analysis, the exercise of God's love must be traced back to His sovereignty, or otherwise He would love by rule, and if He loved by rule, then is He under a law of love, and if He is under a law of love, then is He not supreme? He's Himself ruled by law, but it may be asked, surely you do not deny that God loves the entire human family? We reply, it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, Romans 9.13. If then God loved Jacob and hated Esau, and that before they were born, or had done either good or evil, then the reason for his love was not in them, but in himself. That the exercise of God's love is according to his own sovereign pleasure is also clear from the language of Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 through 5, where we read, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. It was in love that God the Father predestined His chosen ones unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according. .. According to what? According to some excellency He discovered in them? No. What then? According to what He foresaw they would become? No. Mark carefully the inspired answer. According to the good pleasure of His will. God is sovereign in the exercise. of His grace. This of necessity, for grace is favour shown to the undeserving, yea, to the hell-deserving. Grace is the antithesis of justice. Justice demands the impartial enforcement of law. Justice requires that each shall receive his legitimate due, neither more nor less. Justice bestows no favours and is no respecter of persons. Justice as such shows no pity and shows no mercy. But after justice has been fully satisfied, grace flows forth. Divine grace is not exercised at the expense of justice, but grace reigns through righteousness, Romans 521. And if grace reigns, then is grace sovereign? Grace has been defined as the unmerited favor of God. An esteemed friend who kindly read through this book in its manuscript form, and to whom we are indebted for a number of excellent suggestions, has pointed out that Grace is something more than unmerited favor. To feed a tramp who calls on me is unmerited favor, but it is scarcely grace. But suppose that after robbing me, I should feed him, the starving tramp. That would be grace. Grace then is favor shown where there is positive demerit in the one receiving it. If grace is unearned and undeserved, then none are entitled to it. If grace is a gift, then none can demand it. Therefore, as salvation is by grace the free gift of God, then he bestows it on whom he pleases. Because salvation is by grace, the very chief of sinners is not beyond the reach of divine mercy. Because salvation is by grace, boasting is excluded, and God gets all the glory. The sovereign exercise of grace is illustrated on nearly every page of scripture. The Gentiles are left to walk in their own ways, while Israel becomes the covenant people of Jehovah. Ishmael, the firstborn, is cast out comparatively unblessed, while Isaac, the son of his parents' old age, is made the child of promise. Esau, the generous-hearted and forgiving-spirited, is denied the blessing, though he sought it carefully with tears, while the worm Jacob receives the inheritance and is fashioned into a vessel of honor. So, in the New Testament, divine truth is hidden from the wise and prudent, but is revealed to babes. The Pharisees and Sadducees are left to go their own way, while publicans and harlots are drawn by the cords of love. In a divine manner, divine grace was exercised at the time of the Savior's birth. The incarnation of God's Son was one of the greatest events in the history of the universe, and yet its actual occurrence was not made known to all mankind. Instead, it was specially revealed to the Bethlehem shepherds and wise men of the East, and this was prophetic and indicative of the entire course of this dispensation. For even today Christ is not made known to all. It would have been an easy matter for God to have sent a company of angels to every nation and denounced the birth of His Son, but He did not. God could have readily attracted the attention of all mankind to the star, but He did not. Why? Because God is sovereign and dispenses His favors as He pleases. Note particularly the two classes to whom the birth of the Savior was made known, namely, the most unlikely classes, illiterate shepherds and heathen from a far country. No angel stood before the Sanhedrin and announced the advent of Israel's Messiah. No star appeared to the scribes and lawyers as they, in their pride and self-righteousness, searched the Scriptures. They searched diligently to find out where He should be born, and yet it was not made known to them when He was actually come. What a display of divine sovereignty! The illiterate shepherd singled out for peculiar honor, and the learned and eminent passed by. And why was the birth of the Savior revealed to these foreigners and not to those in whose midst He was born? See in this a wonderful foreshadowing of God's dealings with our race throughout the entire Christian dispensation, sovereign in the exercise of His grace, bestowing His favors on whom He pleases, often on the most unlikely and unworthy. It has been pointed out to us that God's sovereignty was signally displayed in His choice of the place where His Son was born. Not to Greece or Italy did the Lord of Glory come, but to the insignificant land of Palestine. Not in Jerusalem, the royal city, was Emmanuel born, but in Bethlehem, which was little among the thousands of towns and villages in Judah, Micah 5.2, and it was in despised Nazareth that He grew up. Truly, God's ways are not ours. Chapter 2 the sovereignty of God in creation. From Revelation 4 verse 11, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Having shown that sovereignty characterizes the whole being of God, let us now observe how it marks all his ways and dealings. In the great expanse of eternity, which stretches behind Genesis 1.1, the universe was unborn and creation existed only in the mind of the great creator. In his sovereign majesty, God dwelt all alone. We refer to that far distant period before the heavens and the earth were created. There were then no angels to him God's praises, no creatures to occupy his notice, no rebels to be brought into subjection. The great God was all alone amid the awful silence of his own vast universe. But even at that time, if time it could be called, God was sovereign. He might create or not create according to his own good pleasure. He might create this way or that way. He might create one world or one million worlds. And who was there to resist his will? He might call into existence a million different creatures and place them on absolute equality, endowing them with the same faculties and placing them in the same environment. Or he might create a million creatures, each differing from the others and possessing nothing in common save their creaturehood. And who was there to challenge his right? If he so pleased, he might call into existence a world so immense that its dimensions were utterly beyond finite computation, and, were he so disposed, he might create an organism so small that nothing but the most powerful microscope could reveal its existence to human eyes. It was his sovereign right to create, on the one hand, the exalted seraphim to burn around his throne, and, on the other hand, the tiny insect which dies the same hour that it is born. If the mighty God chose to have one vast gradation in His universe, from loftiest seraph to creeping reptile, from revolving worlds to floating atoms, from microcosm to microcosm, instead of making everything uniform, who was there to question His sovereign pleasure? Behold, then, the exercise of divine sovereignty, long before man ever saw the light, with whom took God counsel in the creation and disposition of His creatures. See the birds as they fly through the air, the beasts as they roam the earth, the fishes as they swim in the sea, and then ask, who was it that made them to differ? Was it not their Creator who sovereignly assigned their various locations and adaptations to them? Turn your eye to the heavens, and observe the mysteries of divine sovereignty which were there. Confront the thoughtful beholder. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differeth from another star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15.41 But why should they? Why should the sun be more glorious than all the other planets? Why should there be stars of the first magnitude and others of the tenth? Why such amazing inequalities? Why should some of the heavenly bodies be more favorably placed than others in their relation to the sun? And why should there be shooting stars, falling stars, wandering stars, Jude 13, in a word, ruined stars? And the only possible answer is Revelation 411. For thy pleasure they are and were created. Come now to our own planet. Why should two-thirds of its surface be covered with water? And why should so much of its remaining third be unfit for human cultivation or habitation? Why should there be vast stretches of marshes, deserts, and ice fields? Why should one country be so inferior topographically from another? Why should one be fertile and another almost barren? Why should one be rich in minerals and another own none? Why should the climate of one be congenial and healthy, and another uncongenial and unhealthy? Why should one abound in rivers and lakes and another be almost devoid of them? Why should one be constantly troubled with earthquakes and another be almost entirely free from them? Why? Because thus it pleased the Creator and Upholder of all things. Look at the animal kingdom and note the wondrous variety. What comparison is possible between the lion and the lamb, the bear and the kid, the elephant and the mouse? Some, like the horse and the dog, are gifted with great intelligence, while others, like sheep and swine, are almost devoid of it. Why? Some are designed to be beasts of burden, while others enjoy a life of freedom. But why should the mule and the donkey be shackled to a life of drudgery, while the lion and tiger are allowed to roam the jungle at their pleasure? Some are fit for food, others unfit. Some are beautiful, others ugly. Some are endowed with great strength, others are quite helpless. Some are fleet of foot, others can scarcely crawl. Contrast the hare and the tortoise. Some are of use to men, others appear to be quite valueless. Some live for centuries, others a few months at most. Some are tame, others fierce. But why all these variations and differences? What is true of the animals is equally true of the birds and fishes. But consider now the vegetable kingdom. Why should roses have thorns, and lilies grow without them? Why should one flower emit a fragrant aroma, and another have none? Why should one tree bear fruit which is wholesome, and another that which is poisonous? Why should one vegetable be capable of enduring frost, and another wither under it? Why should one apple tree be loaded with fruit, and another tree of the same age in the same orchard be almost barren? Why should one plant flower a dozen times in a year and yet another bare blossoms but once a century? Truly, Psalm 135, verse 6, whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and in the earth, in the seas, and all deep places. Consider the angelic hosts. Surely we shall find uniformity here, but no. There, as elsewhere, the same sovereign pleasure of the Creator is displayed. Some are higher in rank than others, some are more powerful than others, some are nearer to God than others. Scripture reveals a definite and well-defined degradation in the angelic orders from archangel past seraphim and cherubim we come to principalities and powers in Ephesians chapter 3 verse 10 and from principalities and powers to rulers Ephesians 6 12 and then to the angels themselves and even among them we read of the elect angels first Timothy 5 21 again we ask why this inequality this difference in rank and order And all we can say is, our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Psalm 115, 3 If then we see the sovereignty of God displayed throughout all creation, why should it be thought a strange thing if we behold it operating in the midst of the human family? Why should it be thought strange to one if God is pleased to give five talents to one and another only one? Why should it be thought strange if one is born with a robust constitution and another of the same parents frail and sickly? Why should it be thought strange if Abel is cut off in his prime while Cain has suffered to live on for many years? Why should it be thought strange that some should be born black and others white, some be born idiots and others with high intellectual endowments, some be born constitutionally lethargic and others full of energy, some be born with a temperament that is selfish, fiery, egotistical, others who are naturally self-sacrificing, submissive, and meek? Why should it be thought strange if some are qualified by nature to lead and rule while others are only fitted to follow and serve? Heredity and environment cannot account for all these variations and inequalities, no. It is God who maketh one to differ from another. Why should he? Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight, must be our reply. Learn then this basic truth, that the Creator is absolute sovereign, executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering naught but His own glory. Proverbs 16, 4, The Lord hath made all things for himself. And had he not a perfect right to, since God is God, who dare challenge his prerogative? To murmur against him is rank rebellion. To question his ways is to impugn his wisdom. To criticize him is sin of the deepest die. Have we forgotten who He is? Behold, all nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? Isaiah 40, 17 and 18 Chapter 3 The Sovereignty of God in Administration Psalm 103, 19 The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all." First, a word concerning the need for God to govern the material world. Suppose the opposite for a moment. For the sake of argument, let us say that God created the world, designed and fixed certain laws, which men term the laws of nature, and that he then withdrew, leaving the world to its fortune and the outworking of these laws. In such a case, we should have a world over which there was no intelligent presiding governor, a world controlled by nothing more than impersonal laws, a concept worthy of gross materialism and blank atheism. But I say suppose it for a moment, and in the light of such a supposition, weigh well the following question. What guarantee have we that some day ere long the world will not be destroyed? A very superficial observation of the laws of nature reveals the fact that they are not uniform in their working. The proof of this is seen in the fact that no two seasons are alike. If the nature's laws are irregular in their operations, what guarantee have we against some dreadful catastrophe striking our earth? The wind bloweth where it listeth. pleaseth, which means that man can neither harness nor hinder the wind. Sometimes the wind blows with great fury, and it might be that it should suddenly gather in volume and velocity until it became a hurricane earth-wide in its range. If there is nothing more than the laws of nature regulating the wind, then perhaps to-morrow there may come a terrific tornado and sweep everything from the surface of the earth. What assurance have we against such a calamity? Again, of late years we have heard and read much about clouds bursting and flooding whole districts, working fearful havoc in the destruction of both property and life. Man is helpless before them, for science can devise no means to prevent clouds bursting. Then how do we know that these bursting clouds will not be multiplied indefinitely, and the whole earth be deluged by their downpour? This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail-order catalog, Thank you. at SWRB at SWRB.com by phone at 780-450-3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Avenue Edmonton that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N Alberta abbreviated capital A capital B Canada T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Calvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart, from his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions. since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important. When he says, that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay what he never knew.